As northern Queensland braces for the impending wet season, disaster preparedness is at the forefront of providers’ minds for ensuring businesses and vulnerable residents kept safe during emergencies.
To help northern communities prepare, the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) has developed a series of Emergency Planning Workshops – highlighting how to prepare and respond to disasters.
A workshop will be held in Cairns at Rydges Esplanade Resort on Wednesday 12 November:
- Residential Aged Care Homes (RACH): 8.30am -12.30pm
- General Practices: 1-5pm
Over the last month, the free workshops have been held in Mareeba, Townsville, Mackay, Ingham, and Proserpine – with staff from local GP practices, Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS), Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO), and RACHs who are responsible for emergency disaster management and business continuity in attendance.
Topics include:
- A facilitated scenario-based discussion with the Local/District Disaster Management Group (LDMG/DDMG), and other agencies, exploring considerations staff may face during an emergency or disaster
- Increasing awareness of local hazards, risks, and available resources
- Strengthening resilience networks across the primary care sector
- Points of contact during an emergency, and information about subscribing to NQPHN’s emergency SMS system
- Developing relationships to provide on-the-ground information about risk areas, needs, and facilities able during emergencies
- Overview of Queensland legislation
- Building relationships with agencies such as LDMG, Ergon, State Emergency Service, and NBN
- Scenario testing
At the workshops, representatives from Queensland Health, the DDMG, and the LDMG attended to discuss events including the January-February flooding event that impacted and isolated many residents, as well as plans for managing future events.
The workshops are designed to equip staff with the knowledge and tools to confidently lead in emergency preparedness and planning.
NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Ben Tooth emphasised the importance of proactive disaster preparedness.
“These workshops are pivotal in ensuring timely and effective care can be assured for our communities – including our most vulnerable residents who have specific needs or vulnerabilities during times of crisis,” he said.
“NQPHN has designed these workshops to help build robust disaster management strategies, and relationships, to provide a holistic response system during emergencies.”
The workshops also help NQPHN develop an understanding about existing resources, risk areas, and individual capacity in the event of disaster to help facilities better prepare in times of crisis.
These collaborative, tailored workshops are being run for the third year – building on previous feedback and information from attendees for each communities’ specific capacities and needs.
Register your interest for the Cairns workshop here.
About NQPHN
Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) works together with our partners to connect existing local services to simplify the healthcare system, fund primary care and mental health services based on the needs of local communities and support primary care and mental health providers to build their skills and deliver the highest quality patient care.
For more information, visit www.nqphn.com.au